The Sapphire
by DeeNewbie
Summary: As the school year continued to throw surprises at the still-slighty-new Beacon instructor, Miss Sapphire, her relatively quiet life is once again turned on its side as a dead comrade strolls back into the Academy. Sapphire is tossed back into her original job as part of the Vale Security Agency and is forced to deal with her priorities as a teacher, agent and friend.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! So this is just some random plot that I had to write out out of my head. Will not be updated regularly, just when and if I suddenly come up with a chapter. As always, feel free to comment some ideas and I will definitely consider writing them up! Thanks!**

* * *

I watched the current tournament battle end between team TYNA of Beacon and team UNDR of Atlas. Despite being incredibly strong, Atlas trained were taught to abide by ranks, rules and plans. The team's plan had been broken about three-quarters of the way through and led to their ultimate defeat. I cheered enthusiastically, as I did with all the Beacon teams and got up to leave the auditorium for a break. I was a graduate of Beacon academy and had returned to the school to pass on the knowledge and train the younger generations. Also, I was in league with Headmaster Ozpin and protecting the entire Beacon kingdom. Before I returned as a trainer, I had entered the Vale government as a national security agent and made my way into Ozpin's inner circle. So when I was offered an instructing job at Beacon Academy, I hopped at the chance.

As I teleported from the floating Tournament Auditorium back onto the ground, students from all schools fled past me to some central point in Beacon's front courtyard. Raising an eyebrow, I followed behind to be startled by sudden gunshots flying through the air above me. I glanced up and my jaw dropped as I spotted Atlas-trained Winter Schnee and my once-lost-thought-compromised best friend Qrow sparring on the raised bridges. They collided, the force crushing the bridge and the pair dropped out of my sight. I blinked in shock. Qrow was alive and well. Frustration quickly replaced the shock. He was alive and well and didn't think of contacting me in the past few months to let me know?! What a bastard. I joined the rushing students to catch the last of the fight.

"Schnee!" commanded a voice. A voice that I knew well.

I shoved my way to the front of the viewing group, standing behind a silent Ruby and Weiss. General James Ironwood of the Atlas military slowly walked up to the battle. Officer Winter Schnee, older sister of our very own Weiss ice-queen Schnee, had her thin sword blade pointed at Qrow's neck. The courtyard was a mess; broken concrete slabs strewn around and sliced lampposts scattered the grounds.

"General Ironwood, sir!" Winter automatically stood at attention, fully facing her boss.

The strict dark-haired commanding officer strolled up to her, two robot guards flanking him.

"What is the meaning of this?" he ordered.

"He started the altercation, sir." She accused.

"Actually, that's not true." Qrow spoke up lazily, voice slurring slightly. I rolled my eyes. He was drunk, as always. Despite that, he managed his drunkness incredibly well.

"She attacked first." He continued, stretching his arms behind his head.

"Is this true?" James Ironwood questioned his subordinate. With plenty of student witnesses to testify against her, the older Schnee hesitated before breaking eye contact with her superior.

"And you…what are you doing here?" Jim stepped past Winter and murmured his question to Qrow.

"I could ask you the same question." My friend slurred back.

"I-"

"Come, come. If you want to watch a fight, there is a perfectly good auditorium just around the corner with better seats. And popcorn." Ozpin and Glynda also appeared on the scene.

"Break it up people! We will take care of this mess." Added Glynda, waving the crowd away.

I decided to also make my entrance and stepped between Ruby and Weiss.

"Mind telling me why I wasn't invited to this reunion?" I stated, strolling up to the other adults. James 'Jimmy' shot me a quick look of disbelief.

"Follow, Schnee. Let's get out of here." and the Atlas military left into the Beacon Academy. I watched them go with a cautious eye. Why would Ironwood turn up to Beacon? Glynda turned to the courtyard and began repairing it.

"Qrow, Sapphire. A word. Please." Ozpin then turned and began back to his office. I sighed and shook my head. This could not get any worse.

I trailed behind the headmaster from a distance, mentally preparing myself for the unwanted reunion of Ozpin's inner soon joined by my side in silence.

I frowned. Qrow.

"Sapphire…" he started quietly. I crossed my arms in front of me and studiously ignored him. I quickened my steps away from him.

"Please, Saph…"

I whirled around and shot him an angry look, my bright blue eyes flaming.

"Don't you _Saph_ me." I glanced around, suddenly aware of the wandering students and lowered my voice.

"I was part of your bloody field team and was your best friend and you didn't even think to let me know you were…I don't know…alive?!"

Qrow scratched his head. "The thought probably did occur to me-"

"-but you were too drunk to follow it through." I abruptly finished for him and joined Ozpin and Glynda in the elevator up to his office. The Headmaster and his Assistant wisely kept their mouths shut. Qrow quickly took his place by my side.

"Where is all this anger coming from? It cant all be from me dropping contact."

"Then you must be a lot more stupider than I gave you credit for." I spat out. A spark of understanding lit up his eyes.

"Were you perhaps, worried about me, Miss Sapphire?" he asked, smirking with a knowing look in my direction. I sighed in annoyance and face palmed myself just as the doors opened.

We filed out, Ozpin heading behind his desk and the rest of us scattered through the room.

"What were you thinking?!" Winter exclaimed, approaching Qrow with her hands behind her back but fire lighting up her face. Her Commander easily agreed, fisting a hand.

"If you were one of my men, I'd have you shot." He threatened. I rolled my eyes. I wasn't exactly on Atlas's dictatorship-like side.

Qrow was likewise.

"If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself." He casually stated, pulling out a flask of what probably held alcohol.

"Well, I cant condone his behaviour," started Glynda, "but your actions certainly didn't help the situation." She crossed her arms, glaring at Winter.

"He was drunk!" Winter defended.

"He's always drunk." The blonde assistant retorted, her hands flying out in exclamation. We all paused and turned to Qrow, who happened to be drinking from his flask. He stopped abruptly when he realised we watched him. Ozpin finally broke the stunned silence, sighing in exhaustion.

"Qrow, what are you doing here?" he sunk down into his chair, elbows leaning on his desk.

"You can't just go dark in the field and not communicate with us." Scolded James.

"I'm not one of your robots Jimmy." Qrow snapped back.

"General." Schnee stepped up confidently, hands folded behind her back. Qrow turned his attention to her.

"Whatever." He drawled. "You sent me to get intel and I'm telling you, the enemy is here." Qrow glanced at Ozpin. Jim wandered to lean against the end of Ozpin's desk.

"We know." He deadpanned.

"What a way to tell him." I shot the Commander a dirty look.

"Oh, oh, so you know." Qrow sarcastically answered, his palms patting the air in aggravation. "Excuse me for risking my life to keep you all informed!"

"Qrow."

"Communication's a two-way street pal. You see this?" my friend pulled out his phone and pointed to it. "That's the _send_ button."

"They had reason to believe you had been compromised." Schnee frowned at the scythe master.

"And I have reason to believe you're not supposed to be here. Seriously, who invited her?" and he pointed at the white-haired officer. Silence overtook the room.

"Schnee, we will discuss this back on the ship." James ordered.

"But sir-" she turned.

"Winter. Leave."

Her mouth fell open before she grimly saluted in acknowledgement. "Yes sir."

She spun on her heel and marched to the elevator, pausing to glare sideways at Qrow. He winked in response before she quickly left. Silence took over the room for a moment.

"Go on." Jim urged Qrow.


	2. Chapter 2

I stepped back into the elevator, the grim thoughts of our conversation still floating through my head. A frown was etched on my face.

"Turn that frown upside-down, Sapphire. You look better without it."

I rolled my eyes at the attempt at flirting and glanced over at Qrow standing beside me.

"Well, since you're not frowning, I'm doing it for the two of us."

"Ozpin doesn't frown."

"Glynda does that for the two of them as well." And stalked out of the elevator, sucking in a deep breath to rid of the slight alcohol smell from my friend.

"Oh, how I've missed you, Saph."

"Unfortunately I can't say the same. I'm too pissed off at you." I retorted. Qrow sighed and trailed behind me.

"Look, I get it. You're mad because I didn't contact you for a while-"

" _Mad_ doesn't cover it, Qrow." I forced through gritted teeth. "And _a while_ is an understatement. I am extremely _pissed off_ you couldn't be bothered to tell your _best friend_ that you were _alive_ _and well_ for the past few months."

"That's not all of it, is it? You're also emotional because of what I last said to you."

I paused at this.

 _Remember that I always have your back and that I trust you with my life. Stay safe, Saph._

"Right. Although you don't trust me enough to tell me that you were going to do a disappearing act. Excuse me; I have a class to get to." And I turned a corner. Qrow made a sound of annoyance and grabbed my wrist, spinning me to face him.

"Sapphire. Please. I'm sorry I didn't let you in on the plan despite our friendship. At least let me make it up to you over dinner."

I softened at his sincere tone but made a face at the obvious flirting.

"Burgh." I pulled my hand gently out of his wrist, smiling. "How about lunch instead, Mr Flirt?"

He smirked, knowing he was on the path to forgiveness. "It's a date, then."

"Always get the last word, don't you?" I teased and hurried off to supervise my class.

"Well, I'm glad you all practiced your skills like I asked you to. One way or another at least." I discreetly glanced at team CRDL. The team was strong but lacked in skill. Which they didn't seem to practice in. the doors to the room opened and Qrow stepped to the doorway casually.

"Too impatient are we?" I directed my question to him. He shrugged, relaxed.

"We made a date." He drawled. I made a face of annoyance. Of course he had to blab that out, especially that Ruby and Yang were present. Oh well. I shook my head. He was Qrow after all.

"Class dismissed." I called out and the students gathered their weapons and filed out past me. Qrow strolled over through the crowd and navigated his way to me, hands in pockets. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I also organized my things into my side bag. He sat on the desk by my side, watching.

"Were you so eager for this date that you couldn't wait until I actually finished the class, Qrow? No alcohol allowed, by the way." I added, watching in amusement as his face lost its usual playfulness. I grinned.

"Uncle Qrow!" a loud voice called and we turned to see Yang and Ruby rushing up.

"Are you two going on a date? If so, I approve. Miss Sapphire's good." Yang cheekily stated.

"It's just a lunch for two old friends to catch up on events." I clarified. "But it's so nice to know I have your approval, Yang." I jokingly replied.

"Are you here to escort Miss S out, Uncle Qrow? Aw how romantic." Ruby sighed, clasping her hands together. I watched the two sisters with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course. You know how much of a gentleman I am." Qrow joined in on the fun, jumping off the desk and bowing lowly.

"Oh please. If anything, your uncle here has some kind of chemistry with Winter Schnee."

"Schnee? As in Weiss' older sister? Cool, we could be related!" Ruby clapped excitedly. Yang and Qrow winced simultaneously.

"Although I love Weiss, living with her as a sister may be another story." Yang rubbed the back of her head.

"Winter Schnee is hot, I admit that. But take away that _General_ of hers and she's useless." Qrow mused.

"Qrow!" I slapped his arm quickly, glancing at the open door. He grinned cheekily at me.

"What she doesn't know can't hurt her." He replied wisely. I shot him an unimpressed look in response.

"Well! We wouldn't want to keep you! Ruby and I are leaving first!" Yang grabbed her sister's arm and began dragging her out of the room.

"But Yang! I still-"

"We were just leaving, _right Ruby_?"

The Red riding hood slowly nodded her head in sudden understanding. "Right. Bye Uncle Qrow, Miss Sapphire!"

I sighed in slight annoyance and swung on my bag, following them out. Qrow trailed behind, arms stretched relaxedly behind his head.

"So? Is our lunch date still on?"

Despite myself, a smile crawled onto my face. "Why wouldn't it be? Now, where'd you want to go?"

"Somewhere where we can talk without people eavesdropping."

I glanced over my shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow. "Something important to discuss?"

He shrugged. "You could say that."

"Always so cryptic."


	3. Chapter 3

After arguing about several lunch possibilities, we finally settled on Beacon's tallest roof. Despite the height, it wasn't a windy day and the view was to die for.

"So? What's so important that you had to drag my ass all the way up here, Qrow?"

"What was your honest reaction to my last statement to you before I disappeared?"

I made a face. "Well, despite saying that you trusted me, you still didn't tell me-"

"No, not that." Qrow held a hand out to stop me. "The statement after that one."

"Stay safe Saph?" I mentally cringed. "Despite the obvious cliché, cringeworthy note to it, I did appreciate it."

"Did you?"

"Please. Did you think that I didn't know I was being observed? I haven't exactly been on the best of terms with Ironwood."

"Yeah, I'd say blowing up one of his ships could do that."

I rolled my eyes. "It was an accident that was not my fault. One of his engines was already faulty to begin with. Who would have known that my little spar with Rocksworth would have knocked the engine and caused it to explode?"

"You would have had an inkling? Even a tiny inkling?" Qrow held his thumb and forefinger a centimetre apart to emphasize. I sighed.

"Okay, maybe I was aware of it but it still wasn't my intention to blow up the ship anyway." I stuffed a sandwich into my mouth, keeping Qrow from asking further. He rolled his eyes, clearly seeing that I wanted to avoid the story and moved on.

"So what's the situation between Ozpin and Ironwood? Did it get any worse?"

I shrugged and swallowed. "It's still a stalemate. Both of them want to avoid a war between Kingdoms but Ironwood is constantly sticking his nose into Beacon's business and claiming to be protecting the city by bringing in his guns. As you can see, almost his whole bloody army is in the sky and I can tell some people are freaking out."

"Overly protective, wouldn't you say?"

"I'd say." I scoffed and gulped down a juice.

"So…"

"So…?" I mimicked.

"How have you been?"

I glanced over at him due to the sudden question.

"Um, I'm good. You?"

Qrow nodded and gazed up at the clouds. "I'm good."

"So, what are you really doing here? I doubt it's because it's a reunion between old school mates."

"I'm here because of the intruder getting into our forces. We don't know who it is, but when they do strike, it's going to be bad."

We fell into another silence, which I was starting to hate. Every silence followed a depressing conversation.

"How's Ruby? And Yang? Are you passing them?"

I scoffed and punched his shoulder. "Just because I know you, that doesn't mean I pass them automatically. They gotta work hard like the rest of the class."

"Aw come on, we don't just _know_ each other." He hinted at the obvious signs between us that neither of us, or our circumstances, wanted to really acknowledge. I shot him a sharp look and he just smirked back at me, waiting for an answer. I decided not to grace that statement with a reply and moved the topic back to the girls.

"In any case, team RWBY are one of the top groups in my class. They all work hard and are tight-knit. Yang is as hyper and enthusiastic as ever. Ruby has got to be the youngest Beacon student ever to be a team leader but her quick thinking and imagination has saved more lives than expected of her."

"You seem fond of them."

I glanced over at their Uncle and smiled. "They tend to grow on you."

I was interrupted by my phone ringing, which I quickly picked up. Professor Blaze was informing me of our shifts and that it was soon to be my turn to clear the underground train lines in Sector 6 of the abandoned city.

"Always fun." I farewelled and hung up, then standing. Qrow watched me from his spot on the roof, arching an eyebrow.

"Duty calls. My turn to clear the Grimm out."

My hand unconsciously brushed my side, feeling the comforting cold metal of my scythe against my fingertips.

"Make quick work of it, I still have a few questions to ask you of my nieces." Qrow warned. It was my turn to smirk.

"If you want to catch up, why don't you just go and ask them yourself?" I walked behind him, crossing my arms.

Qrow grumbled and turned his face from me again. "I will, I just want a brief image of what I'm heading into."

I laughed and leaned forward, gently kissing the back of his head. "You keep telling yourself that, Bird." I teased, using his nickname and left for my job.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ah, it's you, Sapphire." Greeted Paris, raising her hand up daintily and waved at me.

"Ah, it's you, Paris." I imitated, regally waving back at her. She burst out into her loud hyena-like laughter, completely opposite to her petite and posh manners.

"It so doesn't suit you." She managed to choke out between her chuckles.

"Oh shush, you." I smiled. "So it looks like it's you and me again, hey? It's been a while."

Paris swiped her long, straight blonde hair over her shoulder and shifted her weight onto her left foot. Her hands were placed on her hips, slightly covering the twin pistols on her belt.

"All of your classes, my field supervision and separate sectors hardly clash. It's good to see you again." she gently smiled.

"All right then, let's get started."

We headed to the tunnel entrance and approached a large hole that dropped into darkness.

"Well, you seem a little eager." Paris noticed, crossing her arms, leaning back on a leg and observing me. I took a step to the hole and glanced back at her.

"Do I? How so?"

"Hmmm, do you have something-or rather, someone- to get back to, Saph?" my friend teased, poking my back.

"No." I rolled my eyes and jumped into the black circle. Wind flew past my face, whipping my hair before the faint brown ground rushed at me. I instantly landed, rolling into a somersault to spread the impact.

"Fine, don't tell me." she called, before she abruptly landed next to me.

* * *

"Go, you gem!" Paris yelled. I took the cue, tightened my grip on my scythe and dashed forward. Paris backed me up, her bullets flying harmlessly past me and burying into the opposing Grimm. They paused in their attacks, long enough for me to swoop up and slice them dead.

Together, we zigzagged through the abandoned train tunnel, clearing out the Grimm from underneath the city. So far, we had been lucky enough not to come across any large Grimm Vipers. Smaller Grimm beasts and wolves rushed at us in a frenzy, constantly keeping us on our toes. It took longer than expected but eventually, our entire train line had been cleared. I looked worriedly over at Paris. The mission had clearly shown an increase in the number of Grimm invading the ruins, which just only increased the chance of an attack on the current Beacon city. Nothing to be completely frantic about but not an issue we could just brush off either. A prayer of ours had been answered as everyone returned back to the HeadQuarters relatively safe and sound. The transport plane soon reached Beacon Academy and lowered its ramp onto the air loading dock.

"Let me know what HeadQuarters' take on the Grimm are and keep me posted." I reminded Paris as she walked me down the ramp. She nodded and waved a hand dismissively.

"You stay with Ozpin. I know you trust your life with him." She stated. "Also, I will eventually find what got you so eager to-"

"-took you long enough, Sapphire."

We were interrupted by the husky voice of none other, than Qrow. He stood a couple of metres away, arms lazily stretched and hands resting behind his head. The plane's draft blew his red cape crazily behind him but it didn't seem to faze him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I was being timed." I shot back, narrowing an eye at him. He shrugged.

"I told you to make it quick. Then again, when did you ever listen to me, huh?"

A sudden force had me tripping forward towards him and I regained my balance before I totally embarrassed myself and knocked us both over. Straightening, I whirled around with my hands on my hips, frowning heavily upon a certain blonde-haired Paris. She giggled behind her hand and began backing up into the plane again.

"Now I see why." She teased. I glared at her and took two menacing steps forward. She shrieked and scrambled inside. Just as well, the ramp rolled back up and the plane left in a blast of air.

"What was that about?" Qrow asked, stepping up by my side. i shook my head.

"Nothing important. Now why do you seem so eager to talk about your nieces? I'm sure you didn't have to pick me up all the way out here at the docks."

"The blonde Glynda wanted me to get you to fix the courtyard out front of the Academy. She was caught up in other things and cant do it herself."

We began strolled back to the school. I raised an eyebrow at the courtyard mention.

"Didn't Glynda just fix it the other day after you and Schnee had that pissing match?"

Qrow paused in his walk and I halted, turning to face him. He looked extremely sheepish and scratched the back of his head.

"I may have accidentally run into her again."

I ran a critical eye over him before spotting a smudge of white on one of his temples. I abruptly took a step closer and swiped at the substance with my thumb. Qrow had froze before smirking suggestively at me when I stepped away.

"Can't keep your hands off me, can you Sapphire?"

I rolled my eyes, eyeing the substance as I rubbed it between my fingers.

"Please. There's nothing of interest I see in you." I shot back. "However, I cant say that you and Schnee are keeping your hands to yourselves."

I held up two fingers, showing the white smudge on my fingertips. Qrow remained motionless, his eyes following my fingers.

"If I'm not mistaken, isn't this Winter Schnee's lipstick? Now what could you have been doing for that to appear on your head?" I questioned.

Qrow shuffled on his feet, dropping his arms. "Jealous, Sapphire?"

I shook my head, smirking. "No, just a little worried that this-" I wagged my white fingertips, "-and whatever else occurred had happened in broad daylight in the middle of the Academy's courtyard. Come on Qrow. When it came to things like this, I thought you liked being discreet."

"Despite her hotness, that's not what happened."

I groaned in annoyance and continued walking to the Academy. "God, you're impossible."

"Don't you like her?"

I shrugged. "I don't personally know her, but considering she's very attached to the Atlas life, I don't think her personality would work with mine. However, you and her may become that hate-slash-love line you always see in movies."

"You really think that we have a thing?" Qrow honestly asked, crossing his arms as he joined me by my side. I grinned and winked at him.

"I do. You guys have some kind of tension there. What kind of tension, I don't know, you can figure that out."

"So how was the Grimm clearing, Huntress Sapphire?" he tried to divert the topic. I chuckled, and let him.

"Quite normal, Hunter Qrow." I joked back, nudging his side. "However, there's been a increase in Grimm down there so I'm getting a little antsy."

* * *

We soon arrived at the courtyard, and sure enough, it looked like Glynda never fized it in the first place. Concrete slabs littered the yard, stumps of lamp posts stuck up from the ground and the grass had been cut and blown everywhere. I sighed and shot a glare at my friend, who smiled sheepishly back.

"Damn it Qrow." I muttered and grabbed my scythe, unclipping it easily from my belt. With a quick flick of the wrist, the piece of machinery extended into a black shoulder-high staff. Wisps of silver trailed up its length, finally ending in a single sapphire gem intricately enclosed in wire cube. Qrow whistled lowly.

"It's been a while since I've seen your Semblance in action. Is it still as awesome as the last time I saw it?"

I laughed and approached the concrete mess. "Depends on what you last saw."

Summoning my Aura, I spun my staff within my right hand before abruptly holding it towards the destroyed courtyard. The shattered pieces of metal and rock were instantly encased in a neon blue glow before flying back to their original places. Soon enough, the courtyard looked like new. Qrow applauded and strolled up behind me.

"Brilliant. Now we can mess up the courtyard again." he sarcastically remarked.

"Tch." I ticked and whirled my staff. The sapphire grew in luminosity before I stabbed it towards Qrow, releasing the Semblance. Unsuspecting, Qrow flew back from the collision, landing a good 10 metres away.

"What the f-"

"-if you even put one more scratch on any bloody rock here, I will personally make sure you wont be able to move for the next week." I growled. "This is a school, please restrain yourself."

"And how are you going to do that, hmm?" he was in my face the next second, mentally challenging me. I narrowed my eyes at the implication and shoved my face closer, butting foreheads.

"By sending your ass to a hospital bed."

There was suddenly a cough, followed by a "Am I interrupting?"

I moved away smoothly, keeping my face from breaking out in a blush. "No, nothing. Is something wrong, Glynda?"

I cocked my head at the Beacon Academy's Head Teacher and she motioned for us to follow her.

"Ozpin needs to speak to the both of you."


	5. Chapter 5

"I can't believe you find _him_ ," Glynda flicked her head towards Qrow, "attractive."

"I'm just so irresistible." Qrow clearly understood and stretched his arms behind his head.

"I don't Glynda." I corrected. "He is one of the most irritable, egotistical-"

"-talented, devilishly handsome-" Qrow inputted.

"- _annoying_ people I've ever had the misfortune of meeting." I finished, glaring at my friend.

The elevator finally opened its doors and we filed out into Ozpin's office.

"Glynda, thank you for bringing Sapphire and Qrow here. Right to it, as Sapphire is aware, there is a dramatic increase in the number of Grimm invading the abandoned part of the city."

He looked over to me, to which I nodded.

"I've decided to send a task force to see how the Grimm are constantly entering the city. If there is a way to close the opening, I want you to do it. If not, then come back and we'll see what other relations Beacon needs to make and we'll go from there."

"From how you're speaking, I take that Qrow here and myself are going to be part of this task force?"

Ozpin nodded in confirmation. "Professor Oozbell will also be coming and I'll be assigning one team to the each of you. Our planes will drop each team at scattered points and you'll work from there. Oozbell is currently lecturing and I'm sure Sapphire is about to enter hers. The three of you rendezvous and figure out your game plans. Report back when you're ready to go."

"No worries, Oz." I mock-saluted my old team member.

"Don't worry, Ozzy, I'll take care of her." Qrow imitated me, saluting.

* * *

"Hi Miss Sapphire! Hi Uncle Qrow!" Ruby called, racing towards us as we left the elevator. Qrow stopped me with an outstretched arm and stood in front of me.

"Don't worry, Saph, I'll protect you."

"Urgh, get out of my way, Bird." I pushed at his back playfully. He stumbled, glaring over his shoulder back at me and I chuckled in response.

"Hi there Ruby." I greeted back, stepping past Qrow as he grabbed his usual flask out.

"On your way to class, Miss S?"

"You got it. I have to go to my office and grab some books but I'll see you again in class, all right Rose?"

"Yes Sir!" she teased and skipped off down the corridor.

"Well, if you're going to class, count me out. You know where to find me." and he strolled in the opposite direction. I sighed and turned to head to my office.

"Qrow." I warned.

"Don't you worry about me, Saph. You know I can hold my liquor."

I cursed at his insatiable desire for alcohol before heading off.

* * *

I stretched on my bed, sighing in relief. My lectures were done for the day, I had managed to cook a perfect chicken schnitzel for dinner and I didn't have an early start tomorrow morning. Glancing over at my desk, I spied the stack of papers to mark but I would worry about that later. Nothing could disturb the sense of peace I was currently feeling. A ring from my scroll had that thought flying from my head.

Maybe not.

I rolled over onto my stomach, too lazy to get up and reached for the piece of technology.

"Hello, Oz."

"Sapphire, I'm sorry I have to ask you to do this but to the point, Qrow is completely pissed and at the Biir Bar. He just sent me a text and it seems he's drunk. More than usual." He added quickly. I closed my mouth.

"I would pick him up myself but I'm stuck at the office. Could you go and make sure he makes it back to his place without destroying everything within three metres of him?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You owe me, Oz. Big time."

"That I do, thanks Sapphire."

With that, we hung up. sighing in annoyance, I swiped my dark blue coat from the closet and tossed it on, heading out.

* * *

Sure enough, when I pushed my way into the Biir Bar, Qrow sat slumped in the corner, staring out the window up at the stars. I immediately headed over to the barman.

"I am so sorry about Qrow here. He told me he could hold his liquor."

The burly barman shrugged, continuing to polish his tumblers.

"He's a well known customer of mine so I know him well enough to know that he can. I don't want to pry but something must have happened to him to make him drink more than usual. Any idea?"

I glanced over at my slightly-out-of-it friend and shook my head.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Anyway, thanks, I can take it from here."

The barman gave a nod of acknowledgement and went to tend to his other customers. Shaking my head in exasperation, I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked over the corner.

"Sometimes I hate the stars. When I stare at them it's like nothing's wrong with the world. Then reality sucker-punches me right in the gut when I look away." Qrow mused when I was close enough.

I blinked in surprise. "If you're always this mellow when you look at the stars, I hope you never look away."

Contrast to what I said, his head whipped around at my voice, instantly locking eyes with me. He shot to his feet. I arched an eyebrow at the sudden movement.

"Sapphire, what are y-shit." He cursed as he swayed on his feet. I easily stepped closer, sliding an arm around his waist and pulling his arm around my shoulder to support him.

"I think a better question would be, why are you drunk? More than usual." I added.

"I'm always drunk so this is nothing. Let go." He struggled against me. I pulled his arm and waist tighter against me, the hard planes of his body against my side being drowned out by my annoyance for him.

"I wouldn't be here if I thought you could stand on your own two feet. Come on, lets get you home." And I began dragging him out into the quiet street. We walked through the roads, following Qrow's drunken directions. It wasn't until we turned onto my own street that I recognized that the little bastard was directing me back to my very own home. I shoved him off me, seething.

"Qrow, what the actual hell?! I get _my_ ass out of bed to help you get _your_ ass back home and you bring me back to my home instead? God, Qrow! If we had gone to yours first, we could have _both-"_

"-shut up will you? You're giving me a headache."

I gritted my teeth, finally snapping. Stalking towards him, I grabbed his shirt collar and shoved him against the wall.

"I'll show you a _bloody_ headache-"

"The man is supposed to show the lady home first, right? Plus, your place was closer than mine. I'm not going to let you walk home from mine by yourself. What kind of guy do you think I am?" he murmured back, our eyes locking.


	6. Chapter 6

Once again, I blinked in shock and hastily let go of his clothing. I stepped back, creating some distance between us.

"So…you made it so _you_ were actually walking _me_ home?"

He smirked and placed his hands on his hips as an answer. I finally sighed and fished my key out.

"You can crash at my place tonight. You're not the only one that won't let a friend walk by themselves home at this time of night."

I turned the key and we made our way upstairs to my apartment. Grabbing another key out, I opened my apartment and waved him in first.

"You still live alone, right?" Qrow questioned, slowly regaining his normal drunk state.

"Well, I used to live with Bert. He was the best roommate. Quiet, kept to himself, always greeted me with a kiss when I got home." I emptied my pockets onto the kitchen table and continued to my bedroom closet, hanging my coat back up.

"Bert? Kiss? You never told me you got a boyfriend." Qrow coughed uncomfortably from outside. I smiled as I changed into my PJs. Done; I emerged back into the living room where Qrow was waiting on the couch, a handful of his old clothes in my arms. Qrow kept his eyes away from mine and my grin grew.

"Well, I was going to tell you but then you left the face of the earth. I thought…well anyway, he and I soon split and he left to live with his new owner."

"His new owner?" Qrow finally looked up and locked eyes with me. I grinned cheekily and bent down to his eye level.

"Why yes. Bert used to be my pet fish. Every time I would come home, I'd put my cheek on the fishbowl and he'd give me a fishy kiss. One of my students came over for some tutoring and loved him. I was beginning to get called out more often for field missions so I couldn't spend too much time looking after him, so I gave Bert to that student."

I watched as the realisation settled in my friend's eyes and as his embarrassment grew.

"A-ah. I see. Anyway, where did you get my clothes from?"

I looked down at my arms, successfully distracted.

"Oh these? You left these at my place the couple of times you slept over after mission and couldn't be bothered to head back to your own place."

His signature smirk crawled onto his face.

"And you kept them?"

I scoffed and straightened up, throwing the clothes in his face. "Please. I kept them because I couldn't return them if the owner was off on another mission, I never knew that you wouldn't come back after a few days."

"Still, you could have-urgh." He cursed, fisting a hand onto his chest.

"Qrow?"

He didn't answer and remained still, a pained expression on his face. I grew worried and quickly sat next to him.

"Qrow? What's wrong? Did you drink too much?"

That barked a laugh out of him. "Never. My chest just hurts a little."

"Where?" I placed a hand tentatively on his left side. "Here?"

Qrow shook his head, small sweat beads appearing on his forehead from the pain. He silently grabbed my wrist and moved it so it was on his sternum. As my fingers applied the slight pressure, he winced and I gritted my teeth.

"Sorry. Jesus, what happened? Do you know?"

"I think…that you got…a lot stronger than you realise."

"Me? Qrow, you're not thinking straight." I tutted, a crease appearing on my forehead.

"Remember? You hit it me with a bit of your Semblance back at Beacon's courtyard."

My mind instantly flashed back. That was true; I did hit Qrow hard enough to make him fly back a few metres. He never showed the signs of pain back then though.

"I didn't want you to worry. Guess your power took a lot more out of me than I expected." He answered my silent question, grimacing.

That was it. I panicked.

"Oh shit, I swear I thought I only tapped you! I'm so sorry Qrow! Uh, the doc would be asleep by now so let me get you some medicine and-" I trailed off as I raced to the kitchen, slamming open cupboards and shelves. I hastily pulled out some meds, got some warm water and a cloth and almost sprinted back to his side.

"So much for not making you worry." He muttered. I waved a dismissive hand and gently forced him onto his back. Using the water and cloth, I wiped away the sweat and gave him the meds, which he gratefully took.

"Seriously, don't worry. It'll be gone by tomorrow afternoon. I've taken worse hits." He assured. I shot him the stink eye.

"Unfortunately, I know. Still, you could still get sick in this vulnerable state. I really am sorry."

I repeated. We fell in a comfortable silence as I knelt by the couch. After a while, I went up to grab some spare pillows and blankets for him.

"Saph, back when we were just new teachers…"

I froze, instantly knowing where this was going.

"…why didn't you come with me to Signal? Why Beacon? I swear we were going to stick together but then you just left."

I sighed and thought for a while, formulating an honest response. In the meantime, I had returned to the couch and softly tossed the things onto the end, kneeling back by his side.

"You reminded me too much of her."

"Of Raven. Right?"

I remained silent and changed the subject from my long-lost best friend, averting my gaze.

"I'm sorry that it ended like that. I never meant to hurt you like that." I said, referring back to the short relationship between us back in the day. "I just couldn't handle it."

"Things were complicated back then." Qrow gently placed a finger under my chin and lifted my head so I faced him fully.

"They still are." I countered. My heart began to pound like it did back then when I saw Qrow. To avoid that, I gently pulled away from his grip and stood up.

"Um, I think you should be good for the rest of the night. I left some extra tablets on the kitchen table. G'night."

"Night, Saph."


	7. Chapter 7

Thankfully, the next morning wasn't as awkward as I had expected. The morning getting ready to return to Beacon was just like old friends, as it should be. Thankfully, Qrow was up and running and surprisingly not nursing a hangover. I guess he developed a sort of immunity to those things. Not expecting anything less, I got bombarded by both Yang and Ruby the second Qrow left my side to go talk to Ozpin.

"You two came to school together! Come on, Miss Sapphire, you can tell us." Yang hinted, winking. I rolled my eyes at the blonde pupil.

"Nothing happened."

"So you just happened to enter Beacon Academy at the same time from the same direction?" Ruby slyly pushed. I sighed and decided to come clean, for the sake of getting the girls off my back.

"Your dear Uncle got more drunk than usual yesterday so I let him crash at my place for the night. He was sightly sick yesterday so I made sure that he made it to the morning _not_ sick."

There was a pause before the sisters tackled me into a hug. We tumbled onto the ground in a heap.

"Thanks Miss S."

"Thank you Miss Sapphire."

"You guys must love your Uncle a lot, huh?"

We then got up, brushing ourselves off from the embrace.

"He was the one who helped us through Signal Academy. I wouldn't be me and Ruby would still be absolute trash." Yang answered, earning herself a punch from the younger sister.

"Hey! I wasn't that bad!"

"Oh please."

"I wasn't!"

"Don't worry, kid. You're an expert now thanks to yours truly."

Qrow approached us from behind, ruffling Ruby's head in affection. The younger immediately attached herself to her relative, wrapping herself around his free arm.

"We don't have class until later in the morning. What do you say to a video game of Street Fighters 5, old man?" Yang shifted her weight onto a foot, placing her hands on her hips as a challenge.

"How can I say no?" Qrow accepted. "You coming Saph?"

I smiled and shook my head, ignoring the sly face Yang was making behind his back.

"I have a sparring session between another class but I'll catch up when you're free."

"Suit yourself."

And the three left towards the dorms.

* * *

"Eyes on me!...lower your centre of gravity!...focus!" I barked, sparring against a bright red haired student. I mused in approval as the pupil listened and applied the instructions, coming at me once more. We sparred for a little longer before I decided to cut it and easily disarmed the student.

"Not bad. If you keep your focus fully on the opponent's oncoming attacks, you'll be able to see an opening much faster."

"Thanks, Miss." The student puffed as I patted him on the back and sent him back to his seat above.

"Have I missed anyone?" I called, scanning over the class, looking for a face that I hadn't seen up close in combat yet. When no one popped up, I reverted my scythe back to its compact form and clapped my hands.

"Now I know you're all in teams but there comes times when you get separated for whatever reason and it's of utmost importance to be able to hold your own. Being completely dependent on your team mates is not fair to them, or to you. Of course, you are stronger if you work as a team but that would be useless if each of you individually are weak. The stronger the individual, the stronger the team. Remember the tips I gave you and apply it next time you find yourselves in combat. All right, I'll see you all later."

The classroom when instantly filled with chatter and the scrapes of packing books. The old class filed out, soon replaced with my next combat class. I returned to my desk and took a swig from my water bottle. As I looked up, I almost spit out my mouthful of water as I spotted Qrow sitting among the class, next to Team RWBY. He obliviously ignored the weird stares he was gaining and locked eyes with me, smirking. I shook myself out of the staring competition and started the class anyway.

"Nice to see you all again. I hope you guys are up for a bit of combat. I'm going to see if you actually listened to my last physical class tips."

The sparring then began, as I randomly chose members of the class to come down. One by one, I went against them, suggesting improvements and complimenting on good techniques. I then went up against Team RWBY. Blake was up first and she made her way down the stairs to face me.

* * *

"I'll have to keep myself on my toes with you." I murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. My grip flexed on my scythe. She smiled shyly before pulling out her twin blades/guns. Her demeanour changed instantly and she charged right at me. I managed to catch her as she swiftly changed directions and aimed for my right side. I swung my scythe, blocking her attack and smoothly transitioned into a downward swipe. She blinked out of sight and I cut through her hologram Semblance. There was a shift in the air from above me and I blinked. I leapt out of the way, propelling myself by stabbing my scythe into the ground. I observed as she smashed into where I just stood before easily vaulting to where I was now. She launched into a continuous attack, her blades and ribbons flying around me. Honestly, I had to fully focus to keep up with the barrage of attacks. A glimpse of her face told me her determination.

"You need another plan of attack if your opponent manages to keep up, Blake." I mentioned and in a rare pause, cut through her attack. She jumped away in a blur of black before I found myself surrounded by multiple copies of herself. They started towards me at once, blades up and ready for the final blow. Miss the real Blake and it's game over. I immediately honed my senses to my left hand and crouched, slapping it to the floor. Only the real Blake would create vibrations from her steps. The ten Blakes flipped into the air. A slight vibration of a body bracing itself up into the air. Eight o'clock. I quickly spun my curved blade, slicing through her shadows. They disappeared in smoke, revealing the last and very real Blake, a look of late realisation at her predicament. I whirled my scythe so the blunt side was aimed at her and harmlessly rammed it into her airborne body. She flew back from the impact and barely landed herself on her two feet. By then, I had raced after her and held the tip of my blade by her neck.

"Also, don't put everything on your shadows for the final attack. Although difficult, if your opponent can find it like I can in time, it's game over."

She sucked in a quiet breath of air and nodded, accepting my outstretched hand. I pulled her up and smiled.

"Good work. All right, Yang!" I called and faced team RWBY again. The blonde grinned and stood.

"Your turn."


	8. Chapter 8

Unexpectedly, the blonde initiated the fight right where she stood, punching four quick fireballs at me. I grunted in disbelief and flipped through their paths. I heard Qrow burst in a loud laugh.

"Why aren't I really surprised that you did that?" I questioned as I straightened myself.

Yang shrugged and rocketed off her table throwing more fire punches at me as she went. I dodged each one and finally slipped my scythe compact form onto my belt. Yang was a student for close combat and in order to see improvement, I would really have to get up and personal. My scythe would myself safe but also away from her. As a teacher, I had to sacrifice myself for that. Sure enough, Yang reached within my personal bubble and we began to really go at each other. Her arm movements were incredibly fast, as expected. Her feet movement weren't that bad but also not as fast as her fists.

"Practice on your footwork." I noted and taking that advice, managed to catch her ankle.

Although she didn't fall, she stumbled and I landed a soft kick to her stomach, just strong enough to create some distance between us. She regained her balance, her eyes bright purple with excitement. It was kind of scary. She grounded herself, refuelled her weapon with new bullets and began shooting. I was forced into a dodging dance and although a few managed to graze me, I remained relatively unhurt. Unbeknownst to her, my dance had taken myself closer to her position. It wasn't until I was literally a metre away that she realised. She paused in her firing, giving me the opportunity to grab one of her arms and swing her off balance. Her back turned to me and I gave her another shove into the wall. She tripped towards it. I grabbed my scythe, unlocked it into its blade form and then pinned Yang to the wall, my blade against her back.

"Don't be afraid to use your firepower up close. You know it best so you can make it so that the backlash doesn't reach you."

"Right Miss S, thanks."

I pulled the blade from her and gave her a hearty handshake.

"Gotta love your enthusiasm, though." I grinned and sent her back up. "Okay, Ruby Rose, let's go."

* * *

As Ruby took her position, I could tell that the whole class leaned forward in anticipation, Qrow included. I had to admit, it would have looked intense. The youngest student in Beacon Academy stood in front of me, her extraordinary silver eyes piercing right through me, her blood red scythe out in front of her. Opposite her, I stood. One of Beacon's Huntresses, my royal blue coat around me and my own dark blue scythe resting on my shoulders. Scythe against scythe. I smiled at her.

"Students first."

As ordered, she attacked first and caught me by surprise. I barely got my scythe to block her own before she stood in front of me again, a trail of red petals dissolving around her. Jesus, she was fast. What a Semblance. I blew out a breath of air.

"I knew you were fast but _geez_."

Then I was the next to attack. We collided in the middle and continued to spar, dashing out for momentum before back into a clash. She was a worthy adversary and a sense of pride of being one of teachers grew in me. There was several times where Ruby surprised me in her tactics, which later made sense. As a team leader, her head was full of unusual ideas and she quickly put them into practice. She constantly had me whirling around defending myself. However, as our spar went on, I noticed Ruby growing progressively slower.

"Try not to use your Semblance for every attack, you'll lose energy faster that way." I called, blocking another swipe and blinking through the red petals. Also, as we went along, I began to spot movements that Qrow would use himself. With him being her teacher and all, it was fair that she would also use similar techniques. Using that to my advantage, I tested it out. Taking a break from her swipes, I broke away and leapt towards her, my scythe blade coming up from underneath. As with Qrow, she slammed her scythe to the ground, the wide silver blade ready to block it. Grinning, I pulled off a signature move. Instead of directly attacking her with an upward slice, I rotated the blade in a full circle and re-positioned it, aiming for her left side. Ruby's eyes widened as she watched the movement, too late to stop it. I flipped the scythe so the blade wouldn't hurt her and smashed the blunt end to the student. Ruby flew away from me, quickly regaining her thoughts and landed on her two feet, a slightly pained expression on her face.

"I didn't hit you too hard did I?' I worriedly questioned, remaining on guard in case it was a ruse. Ruby acknowledged the defeat and packed her scythe away. She waved a dismissive hand.

"I'm fine, Miss Sapphire."

I relaxed and approached her. "Apart from your excessive use of Semblance, I have nothing else to say. You're doing brilliantly and I'm sure your Uncle can give you better tips on your scythe techniques if anything."

She gave me a full-blown smile and nodded rigorously. "I will."

I gave her a nod of approval. "All right then, Red Riding Hood, off you go. Miss Schnee, down you come."


	9. Chapter 9

The white heiress gracefully made her way down thte steps and onto the arena, seemingly disconcerned.

"Miss Schnee, is there a problem?" I asked, cocking my head. she sighed.

"I was hoping to practice both of my skills, Miss Sapphire."

"If you are referring to your use of Dust, then go ahead, Weiss. I don't have a problem helping you with both aspects."

She nodded in confirmation and readied herself. Then she went for it. Her Semblance lit up underneath her, including several more around me. I knew what was coming next and focused on her body signals. She frowned in concentration, knelt towards the ground, placing her right hand on the ground for a push start. The Semblance circle underneath her began to speed up, spinning rapidly. I bent my knees, flexing my hands and waited. At the last second, her eyes darted to my left shoulder. She shot like a rocket towards me, aiming for the circle behind my left shoulder. There was no way I could stop her before she got to the first circle but I could stop her after that. I anticipated her first swing at me as she flew past, the metal weapons clanging against each other. Weiss then landed on her circle and prepared to leap out at me. Knowing her direction, I shifted my weight and faced her fully. She vaulted towards me and too late realised that I knew she was coming. Her body collided into the butt of my scythe. As the two made contact, I abruptly heaved my scythe handle up, taking her with it and flicked her over my shoulder. Her Semblance circles disappeared.

"Confidence is good but don't be overly confident!" I reprimanded.

Weiss quickly recovered and adjusted the Dust on her weapon, turning her sword blade white. My mind raced for the Dust power.

White, white, ice!

The ice queen pirouetted around and strongly stabbed the school floor with it. Icicles erupted from the point of attack and raced towards my feet. With no time to think, I leapt out of instinct and the ice missed gluing my feet to the ground. Now air-borne, I looked up and saw Weiss aiming her red bladed sword at me. I mentally cursed.

Even I knew that no matter how talented or experienced I was, there was a low chance of me disarming Weiss' Semblance with just my physical scythe. I blinked in hesitation. I really wanted to avoid using my own Semblance on the kids. My eyes opened again just in time to see Weiss flick her red blade upwards at me, releasing 5 trails of fire. In response, I steeled my resolve and flexed my grip on my scythe. It instantly answered my order, rearranging itself. The scythe blade retracted, the long handle shortened slightly, the sapphire gem box appeared. The second it was done, I brandished it in front of me and released my Semblance. A neon blue light erupted from it, forming a shield. The fire and blue exploded upon contact. The momentum pushed me back through the air again, giving me time to right myself and land gracefully. However, Weiss was unprepared for the blast and had landed on her backside. Taking that opening, I stabbed the end of my staff on the tiles, sending my Semblance into the ground. It soared towards Weiss' position and snaked around her body, immobilising her. I walked over to her, still gripping my Semblance staff.

"Good work that you're still holding onto your weapon. You lose that and you lose a whole lot of chance for survival. I have to admit though, you almost got me a few times there. I wanted to avoid using my own Semblance against you."

I waved my sapphire over Weiss and her restraints dissolved. I helped her up with my free hand and she dusted herself off.

"Well if I have any questions regarding my Semblance then I guess I can ask you then." She coughed, pushing her confident ego aside. I smiled and nodded.

"That's what I'm here for."

With that, Weiss retreated back to her team.

"All right, have I missed anyone?"

One hand popped up and waved around in the air frantically. To which I studiously ignored.

"Oh, look at the time! All right, remember to work on those extra tips and I'll see you guys another time!"

The class immediately erupted into talk as the students packed up and filed out. I flicked my wrist and the sapphire staff returned to its usual scythe mode.

"I never knew you had such a Semblance, Miss Sapphire." Commented Blake as Team RWBY and Qrow approached me. I shrugged.

"I don't use it a lot within Beacon Academy, so you wouldn't have had the chance to see it very often."

"It. Looked. So. COOL!" Ruby exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. I chuckled and playfully swatted her head.

"Why thanks, Ruby."

"Why did you ignore me? I wanted to go up against you." Qrow frowned but with a smirk on his lips.

"Hmmm, I don't know." I teased, placing a finger on my chin in thought, "Considering that you destroyed the courtyard when you fought with Winter, I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you and I went up against each other."

"I would have destroyed you." Qrow shrugged, cocky. I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh please. You couldn't fight your way out of a paper bag."

Qrow smirked and stood closer to me, trying to be intimidating.

"Is that a challenge, Huntress Sapphire?"

I smiled and remained in my spot, refusing to back down. I glanced up at him and noticed that we were merely centimetres from each other.

"Simply the truth, Hunter Qrow." I teased, grinning.


	10. Chapter 10

I watched as his pupils expanded at the covered insult I threw at him.

"Er well, we'll be leaving now. Let's go, Ruby." Yang interrupted loudly, grabbing her team member and dragging the poor girl out. Weiss and Blake quietly followed their friends out, throwing us looks over their shoulder. It wasn't until they were gone that I broke away from Qrow's playful but intense gaze. I sighed and grabbed my books, shoving them into my satchel.

"You scared the kids away again Qrow."

"I scared you away too, didn't I?"

I chuckled. "Never."

"Then I'm sure a little duel just between us two wouldn't scare you?"

I laughed out of exasperation. "You really are asking for an ass-kicking aren't you?"

"Well, considering it's the yearly battle between schools, why don't we see how Beacon does against Signal?"

"I think Ozpin has enough on his plate already than to worry about having to fix his school if we actually do battle." I finally finished and swung my satchel onto my shoulder, moving out of the classroom.

"Just admit it, you're scared to go up against me." Qrow yelled as he caught up to me in the hallway. I remained silent, my honest answer stuck in my head and clutched the strap of my bag tighter.

"Saph?"

"Yes." I whispered. "Honestly, I am afraid to go up against anyone where there is a strong possibility that they could disarm me of my weapon."

"Which rarely happens."

"Yeah but still. Once that sapphire leaves my hands, I switch to my Semblance, transferring it straight into the fight without a medium. I'm better at it now but after a while, it could still grow out of my control and then I lose it."

"You wont hurt anyone."

"You can't say that Qrow." I glanced over at my friend as he walked beside me. "You were there the first time I lost control so you've witnessed the damage I did. It was a miracle no one got hurt. What are the chances of another miracle happening with me?"

"A hundred percent."

"Qrow."

"Saph, face the facts. Sure, you managed to flatten a giant area of crops but you still didn't hurt anyone and you still wont. The power is strong but ultimately, it's _your_ power. You will always control it one way or another. I'll even stake my life on it."

I chuckled lowly. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Don't worry, you wont even be able to take me down anyway."

I laughed and shoved him away from me. "Geez, and I thought your ego couldn't get any bigger."

After that statement, my stomach suddenly let out a grumble of hunger. A hand flew to my stomach in embarrassment. Qrow simply laughed it off.

"Now that you-oh, I'm sorry, I meant your stomach-mentioned that it was hungry, I came across a great bar yesterday-"

I grimaced. "Urgh, no bars, Qrow. I don't want to have to take you home again."

"No no!" he waved his hands in protest. "It's one of those bar-restaurant places. I grabbed a burger there yesterday and it was delicious! If you're hungry, I recommend that place."

"Well, I would go to that place if I actually knew what that place was." I arched an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mea-oh." He suddenly smirked at me and I sighed at his egotisical ways. "Are you perhaps asking if I'm free and if I'd like to join you for lunch?"

I shot him a look. "If you're going to act like this, I can easily eat someplace else, Qrow."

"Kill joy." He muttered, pouting. I grinned in response.

"It's called Caribbean Shore." He answered and turned back into the school. My mouth opened in disbelief. He really wanted me to ask him to come with. For the love of-

Pushing my pride aside, I rolled my eyes and asked.

"Qrow, did you want to come with?"

The man paused and slowly turned around. "And eat with you at Caribbean Shore? How can I say no?" he teased and caught up to me again.

"You have no sense of humility, do you?" I murmured, smiling and we headed out to town.

* * *

"You know, when I imagined a date with you, this was not what I pictured." Qrow confessed and gracefully landed on the ground. I huffed in exertion and cleanly beheaded the Grimm I was facing.

"First, this was not a date. I can't even consider it something _even close_ to a date. Second, it's your fault for leading me through a shortcut into the forest." I spun around and glared at my friend.

"Oh no, the shortcut really is a shortcut. There's no way Grimm would attack us, it wont take us that long to get through the trees. That was absolute _bull_." I imitated his voice, letting a bit of my annoyance seep through.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Qrow managed to state before leaping out of the way as a Grimm stalked after him.

"No, because someone is currently fighting on an empty stomach." I corrected, my annoyance flaring up again. I lashed out with my scythe again, catching a Grimm on its vulnerable underbelly and it collapsed.

"That damn Carribean Shore better be worth it. On second thought, I really don't feel like eating out anymore."

Qrow's face whipped towards me as he stabbed the Grimm to his right.

"Oh what?! Come on, you have to try it-"

"Don't even. I feel like something home-made after all this shit, so I am going home and making myself something. I doubt that I wouldn't still be annoyed while eating in public so at least I can chew and rant in the privacy of my home."

"Damn woman, you're still pissed off at me, aren't you?"

"Oh my, how did you _ever_ guess?"

"I'm still hungry too, you know." He pointed out, earning himself a glare. He scratched his head, straining to think of a way to make it up to me, surely.

"How about I cook for you? It's home-made and you can rant all you want. Plus, I get some free food too."

I froze at the offer and glanced up at him incredulously. "You? Cook? You have got to be joking. As much as I trust you, the idea of getting food poisoning doesn't seem appealing, Qrow."

I vaulted into the air and swept my scythe through another dark creature, red petals erupting in the air.

"Hey, I'm not that bad. Ruby and Yang can eat it."

I briefly thought to the young students and their ability to almost eat anything on site when they were starving.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

Finally, the Grimm had stopped coming and we found ourselves alone in the forest again, the afternoon sun slowly drifting down between the trees. Qrow grabbed out his flask and immediately took a swig. He swallowed and wiped his mouth with his arm.

"Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud. I'm decent." His mouth twitched up when he realised what he just said. I rolled my eyes and easily packed and clipped my scythe back onto my belt.

"A decent cook, you mean." I corrected, smiling when his smirk fell off his face. "But Qrow Branwen cooking? Hmm, I think I do have some stomach medicine at home so…I'm game."


	11. Chapter 11

Dejavu came rushing back to me as I slipped my building key in and opened the lobby door, Qrow following behind me.

"Are you sure you don't need to get any more groceries? I mean, even I don't remember what I have left in my fridge." I asked as we made our way up to the third floor. Qrow shrugged, easily keeping up.

"I can improvise."

I mentally pictured a lump of brown unidentifiable ingredients sitting on a plate in front of me and shuddered.

"Well, I hope."

"Will you stop picking on my cooling skills?"

"Only when you prove me wrong." With that, I swung the door open, shoved myself against it and gestured for Qrow to enter first.

"The kitchen is all yours. Try not to blow it up, will you?"

Soon, a frying pan was sizzling sausages on the stove, while another slowly turned the egg yolk white. I raised an eyebrow, leaning on the other side of the kitchen counter, watching.

"Breakfast at this time of day?"

"All you have is breakfast food and I'm too lazy to go get some more ingredients. Hey, if it's edible, it's edible." He flipped the eggs and moved the sausages off the pan and onto a plate, taking a quick sip from his flask. My mouth watered at the aroma and I smoothly rounded the counter, casually walking up behind him.

"You know, I could get used to this." I eyed the sausage pieces and quickly thought of the best way to steal a bite.

"To what?" Qrow asked distractedly, keeping an eye on the eggs.

"Having someone cook for me." I breathed into his ear. He immediately stiffened from the sudden closeness and I took the pause, snatching a piece and shoving it into my mouth. I spun away laughing when Qrow held up the spatula at me, clearly still flustered.

"Sly…devious….little…" he muttered as he slid the eggs onto another plate and placed it in front of me. I grinned.

"Don't tell me I scared that infamous Qrow Branwen." I teased, returning to the other side of the kitchen bench. "Weren't you supposed to have nerves of steel?"

"And weren't you supposed to have a conscious? I'm hungry and off my game." He murmured, grabbing a knife and fork for himself, spiking his cup of apple juice taken from the fridge earlier with his flask alcohol.

"Ouch, that hurt."

I waited expectedly but he didn't pass over any cutlery. I rolled my eyes at his small retaliation.

"Bastard." I whispered and made my way to the cutlery drawers but of course, he had situated himself so he blocked my path to them. I crossed my arms and glared.

"Move your ass, Branwen." I warned, my hunger irritating me further. He smirked.

Victory.

"Only if you repeat what you did before."

My mind reeled and blood threatened to rush to my cheeks. I was not whispering in his ear when he was staring at me like that. I scoffed.

"In your dreams. Now move." I was seriously considering kicking his ass off that chair. He grinned and locked eyes with me.

"No."

I narrowed my eyes, a dangerous glint sparking through them. "Move."

Qrow raised an eyebrow at the challenge and leaned towards me. "Make me."

"You little piece of-"

RING!

My scroll shrilled violently in my pocket and I swooped it out, pressing it to my ear, keeping a watchful gaze on a certain Hunter.

"What?" I greeted.

"Uh, is this Sapphire I am speaking to?" a voice stammered in shock. I took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to calm down.

"Yes, it is. Sorry Oz, a certain egotistical asshole is pissing me off more than usual."

There was a chuckle on the other end. "I won't even ask. It seems like one of your junior teams have stumbled across a hideout containing masses of unused crystals. I've to stay and watch over the tournament so I was wondering whether you'll be willing to go out into town and have a look at this hideout. If I'm not mistaken, it could be the work of Roman Torchwick and would need someone to supervise the kids."

"Give me a second to stuff my face with food and I'll be right out."

After hanging up, Ozpin sent me the address of the warehouse and I noted it was on the manufacturing side of town. Hearing this, Qrow snatched up the plate of breakfast and held it away from me.

"Either I come with you or you-"

"Fine, fine. You can come, just give me the food!" I exclaimed, easily giving in and practically engulfed whatever was left. Soon enough, Qrow and I packed up and headed out again.

* * *

"This reminds me of the good old days." Qrow reminisced as we walked through the evening streets. I glanced over at him.

"We weren't even on the same team."

"But we still worked together from time to time." He reminded.

"If by work, you mean me saving your ass, then yeah, we totally worked."

"It was that one bloody time. Drop it, will you?"

"Miss Sapphire!"

At the familiar voice and spotted team META waving to me from beside a pile of wooden crates. Qrow and I immediately rushed over and while he checked out the boxes, I ran a critical eye over my students.

"First, are any of you hurt? Second, what have you found out so far?"

Mina shook her head and spoke up. "No, none of us are badly hurt. Also, the crates all seem to hold dust and crystals, with labels putting them from all over Vale. We haven't encountered any Grimm yet."

"Yet." Qrow's husky voice floated towards us from his position. I gestured for the students to follow me and we joined Qrow at the crates.

"It has Torchwick's signature all over it. I don't know why he would keep it in a place like this though." Qrow glanced over at me worriedly.

Did Torchwick have something to do with all the Grimms entering the city too?

"Well despite all the Dust, it looks like no one has been here for a while. Something bigger must be up for him to drop all this potential gold mine and run." Qrow continued. I gritted my teeth.

"That was what I wasn't hoping to hear."

"Looks like something got caught, Ginger." Remarked a voice from the dark. We all whirled around and stood on defence, our weapons clicking out easily.

"Shut up and get to work, Red. We don't have time for this." Replied another unfamiliar voice before a pair stepped out into the faint light, followed by three more men, probably lackys.

The one in front was a woman, with dead-straight bright red hair. She wore she wore a white tank top over some cropped black tights, followed by a pair of impressive black heels. A short red blazer covered her arms and shoulders. Despite her obvious mean tone, she was a looker. Her partner was a tall and slightly burly man, also with a head of red hair. He wore a tight-fitting red t-shirt, some black pants and a pair of black sneakers.

My mind flashed with a memory and I instantly remembered who they were. The Dust crates were evidence and knowing the Twins, I couldn't let them have it. Furthermore, this family would be willing to smash younger kids if it meant getting what they want. I had to get everyone out of there and fast.

"Such a killjoy." Murmured the man, also known as Red. He stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.


	12. Chapter 12

I continued to glare at the side of Red's face, my mind racing with options of how to approach the situation.

"From what it looks like, some kids and their teachers from Beacon Academy seem to be here." Red called out to his sister before turning back to us. "Don't worry guys, I'll make it fast."

He then ran an eye over us while his sister began to give out instructions to the followers, pointing at the crates. META and Qrow tensed, watching for his first move. However, I took things into my own hands. Red and Ginger liked to play around their targets before going in for an instant knock out so in terms of endurance, they were extremely good. One of their weaknesses was that early into the game, their concentration was not at its peak since they haven't absorbed their opponents weaknesses.

So by the time Red's eyes had locked onto me, I was already in his face, my scythe swung out wide to strike his side. His expression turned to one of shock before I smashed him into the far factory wall. Acting quickly, I darted to his sister. She had turned from the enormous crash and her attention was slightly diverted. As her gaze finally registered me, I crouched when I reached within swinging distance. My scythe came around in another arc and swept the woman off her feet. I followed through with my momentum, standing when I spun back to face her and kicked at her back, sending her to join her dear brother by the wall. The followers paused in their work, giving Qrow the chance to take them all out and tie them up together.

"Now, I know you said you don't have time, but I'm sure you can make some time for _me_ , right?" I smirked as I stood before the pair, scythe easily resting on my shoulders.

"Of all people, it had to be you, VSA Sapphire." Ginger spat out, grabbing onto her left shoulder in pain. I arched an eyebrow.

"I could say the same about you. Despite our friendly encounters beforehand, I really didn't want to see you two again. Qrow, you better take META back to Beacon and get some staff out here to get all this evidence."

"And you?"

"It's been a while since I've seen these two and I feel like catching up."

"Don't go overboard." Qrow murmured from behind me and I nodded discreetly.

"Trust me a little, Branwen. I've been in this game longer than you have."

"That's why I'm worried."

That caught my attention and I glanced over my shoulder as he slowly rounded the kids out the door. He sent me a wink to indicate he was joking and quickly left before I could shoot him.

"Speaking of catching up, was that your boyfriend, VSA Sapphire? Who would've known that you of all people gained such a hot looking guy." Ginger insulted, eyeing the door where Qrow just left. I rolled my eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend but I don't think you're his type. Anyway, back to topic, why were you two here in Beacon?"

"Please, how can you be _just friends_ with a piece like that? Plus, we've been through this routine with you before. We won't give up our suppliers." Ginger evaded yet again. at that, Red leapt at me, his thick arms reaching to choke me to death. I instantly twirled my scythe and pointed the tip of the blade towards the middle of his chest. He immediately froze, his eyes on the blade.

"Move and die." I warned.

"Good job, brother." His sister taunted and moved her gaze back up to me. "It looks like our game is up."

I cocked my head. "I would hope so."

"Roman Torchwick. And before you ask, no we don't know where he is. He calls our scrolls and tells us of some free easy way to earn cash locations in return for access to our transport lines. Good luck finding him."

I gritted my teeth when Ginger hit the nail on the head, answering all of my potential questions.

"Any other pieces of information that I should know about?"

"The last time we talked to him, there was the sound of a woman on the other side. She sounded bossy and unfortunately for him, sounded like his boss. Then there was also another pair of people, another woman and a man. Those two sounded slightly younger and bickered like brother and sister."

I raised an eyebrow. "Quite a party on the other side."

"That's what I thought but hey, I don't dictate who Torchwick is friends with or not."

"I would hope not because that would be disturbing."

* * *

I waited until the Vale police department arrived, courtesy of Qrow. They rounded Red, Ginger and their three fellow criminals into vans and drove off to the nearest station for further official questioning.

"Please let General Ironwood from Atlas know about this. Apart from that, I will also personally call him to let him know."

The Chief officer gave me a wry smile as he signed the release papers.

"Don't think the Vale's security is good enough?"

Qrow came up from behind me and took out his flask.

I noted the slight annoyance in the Chief's voice and smiled politely in response.

"I did. Until these two broke out somehow."

The Chief's eyes finally locked onto mine, startled.

"And how do you know they broke out?"

I gave him a flat look and turned away. "Because I was the one who put them there."

I stalked away, a small frown on my face. Qrow whistled lowly and followed suit.

"You just burned his ass." He slurred.

"I sure hope I did. I placed Red and Ginger at the Vale security centre and not even a month later they're back out on the streets. If James is any good at what he does, I'm sending him two specific red presents."


	13. Chapter 13

I flicked out my scroll and dialed a direct number.

"Saph, you need to relax. You caught the Reds, what else is there to worry about?" Qrow stood beside me, his head cocked to the side.

I bit my lip and began tapping my foot out of impatience.

"Damn it, James, pick up."

"Saph, come on, speak to me." Qrow finally grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, shooting me a frustrated look.

"Qrow, when I put the Reds in jail, I also sent in another associate of theirs. If they shared the same cell, then all three of them would have broken free. If that last associate got out, then that means I'm going to be sent back on the streets."

Qrow's face fell at the realisation. I had to smile at that and tapped his cheek affectionately. He made a face and moved away, taking another swig from the flask.

"Try not to miss me too much, Branwen."

 _"_ _Ironwood."_

"Damn James, you took a while to answer your scroll. What are you doing? Seeing a woman? Or more likely, seeing a robot soldier?"

Qrow stifled a laugh, unfortunately spitting out his alcohol, barely missing me. I shot him a dirty look.

 _"_ _Extremely amusing, Sapphire but no. I am not. Did your call have anything to do with work-related tasks?"_

"Straight to the point as always, James. I have brother and sister, Red and Ginger, here for transportation and I am not trusting them with the Vale Security until it's been updated."

 _"_ _I happen to have two cells here in Atlas."_

"Also, I need you to help me find out if Jon Regim also escaped and where he was last seen."

 _"_ _Regim shared a cell with the two?"_

"And considering the two go out, I figured, why not three?"

 _"_ _I'll see what I can do, send them up."_

I hung up and instantly dialed another number. I also began walking back to Beacon, motioning Qrow to come with me.

 _"_ _Hey there, gem, what's with the call? Don't tell me, you need advice on how to handle that hot piece of a partner you had on your hands?"_

I made a face before laughing, glancing over at my friend. Qrow noticed and raised an eyebrow. I smirked, running an eye over him teasingly, earning myself a wink from the man himself.

"Those wouldn't have been my choice of words, Paris."

 _"_ _If not, then any chance I could take a peek at him?"_

I rolled my eyes. "If you're good. Where are you at the moment?"

 _"_ _Ooh a deal, I like. I'm at VSA HQ at present."_

"Stay there, I'm taking a visit."

 _"_ _Everyone will be delighted to see you again."_

"Trent?"

 _"_ _Hmm, yeah, maybe not everyone. See you in a bit."_

I smiled and hung up.

"You're going to VSA now?"

I turned to Qrow as we then entered the elevator up to Ozpin's office.

"It's either I turn up with my own dignity or they carry me back by my legs."

The elevator doors opened and I filed out immediately. Ozpin threw a crumpled piece of paper at me, which I automatically caught and unrumpled. I scanned over it and then grinned up at him, strolling over to his desk.

"You didn't have to crumple it Oz. HQ much prefers flat pieces of paper confirming my leave of teaching absence."

He shrugged, pushing up his glasses. "Just because I'm giving you a leave of absence, does not mean I'm happy about it. Simply venting."

I shook my head in amusement. It would always remain a mystery to how Ozpin was always one step ahead of everything.

"Sapphire is going back to the streets?" Qrow questioned huskily, crossing his arms.

"You can call it my second home, Qrow."

My best friend strolled up to my face and frowned. "I'm coming with you."

I arched an eyebrow. "And let you ruin the fun? No. this case is part of the VSA and as far as I know, you don't work for the government, Qrow."

"I'm a hunter. How can they say no to me?"

I smiled. "Easily. No alcohol is permitted on missions. Anyway, thank you Oz, I'll get back to you and the kids as soon as I can."

Ozpin smiled and returned to his air computer. "Let's hope so."

Qrow and I filed back downstairs, where he finally let his true colours show.

"I'm coming with you, Saph."

"Qrow, that is not possible. You sit your ass in Ozpin's office or we are going to have some serious problems."

"We're going to have some serious problems if I don't go with you."

"What is with all this sudden protectiveness Branwen? It's not like my first day at school, I've done this before."

"That's what I'm worried about."

I finally turned to face him and crossed my arms, now genuinely confused.

"Spit it out Qrow. You're making me twitchy."

"I just don't like the idea of you out there alone."

A giant smile crept onto my face. "Worried, Qrow?"

My best friend shot me a scowl and averted his eyes. "Not like I can explain it."

"Can't or don't want to?"

"Always a cryptic." He muttered. I leaned forward and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder.

"If it makes you feel better, I guess you can come. If you do what I say exactly."

"I wont let you down, Saph." He gave me a relaxed smile in return and I rolled my eyes.

"Doesn't matter, I'm not getting my hopes up in the first place."


	14. Chapter 14

"Elite Huntress Sapphire! It's nice to see you again here at VSA HQ." greeted Gigi, a familiar face. I grinned in her direction.

"Right back at you, Gigi. Trent isn't here, is he?"

The sly officer gave me a smirk. "Considering what happened last time you two were together, I wouldn't be surprised if he was avoiding you like a Grimm."

I shot her an unimpressed look. Someone cleared his throat and I chuckled.

"Oh right. Gigi, this is Hunter Qrow, a friend of mine from my Beacon days."

"Of course, everyone knows about you Hunter Qrow. Pleasure to meet you." Gigi shook his hand eagerly. I locked eyes with Qrow and he sent me a knowing look, making me sigh. God, like his ego wasn't big enough. Anyway, I had to try and get him out of my hair for a couple of minutes and I glanced around the HQ.

"Any idea where Huntress Paris is, Gigi? I'd like for her to meet Qrow here. I promised that she-"

"-would get a peek?"

As if summoned, Paris appeared from around the corner, her eyes instantly zooming to my admittedly handsome friend. I grinned in victory.

"Well, you were good, so here he is. I need to go have a chat with Chief Ore. Could you give Qrow a brief tour of the place while I do that?" I began walking away as I spoke, silently congratulating Paris when she gave me a wink. She knew that I wanted her to keep him busy and latched herself onto his arm.

"Oh of course! How could I not?"

"Try not to have too much fun, Qrow." I glanced over my shoulder, smirking when he finally pieced the clues together, his mouth falling open. Despite being a drunk, he was somewhat a gentleman and couldn't just ignore a gorgeous woman offering to spend some time with him. He was stuck. I winked and teasingly blew him a kiss.

"Have fun, Paris." I added.

"Sapphire? What are you doing here?"

"Not the greeting I was expecting, Chief Ore. I'm here because of Jon Regim."

Ore raised an eyebrow.

"The last I heard, he was safely tucked away into a Vale cell?"

I crossed my arms and frowned. "Emphasis on the word _was_. He's escaped."

Ore's eyes narrowed into slits and he began moving towards the main communications room. I followed close behind and continued speaking.

"I've managed to run into Red and Ginger again and then I moved them to Atlas security for the mean time. I was expecting to get a call from VSA about Regim but decided to beat you to the punch and come in on my own two legs. You didn't know about this?"

"Unfortunately not. Get me a location on Jon Regim!" Ore barked out and the communications staff began buzzing even faster than before as they scrambled to recover their wits.

"I also see you brought in Hunter Qrow Branwen into the HQ." Ore suddenly eyed a screen where Paris and Qrow strolled through the outdoor garden. "Vale obviously knows of him but rules are rules, Sapphire."

I waved a dismissive hand. "Paris is keeping him occupied and away from the high security clearances. Give me a little credit, Chief."

"All right, go easy on me." he joked. "However, the two are seeming very cosy there."

I turned my gaze to the screen to see Paris indeed snuggling up to my friend's arm. I grimaced.

"Urgh, how anyone can see anything attractive in him amazes me."

"Now that's a little harsh. Anyway, back to the topic. So obviously, I am reopening and reinstating you as head Investigator in Regim's capture again. Get your facts and leads from the communications before you out into the field. Keep me posted."

"Yes sir."

We both strolled out of the communications room before splitting. He headed off to oversee the cadet trainings and I headed off to the outdoor garden. I rounded the corner and saw the pair sitting across from each other on a side table. Paris was leaning forward eagerly as Qrow seemed to be telling a story. He sat back in his chair, looking relaxed except for the fact that he actually was sitting back in his chair. Being the flirt that he was, the Qrow that I had known would have been leaning towards the pretty girl, not away from her. Something must be up. That, or he was keeping his alcohol-ridden breath away from her.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." I remarked as I approached them. Qrow's head immediately turned to me. Paris sighed and then followed his movement.

"Are you really?"

"No." I grinned. "But it's time to get back to Beacon."

"It truly was a pleasure meeting you, Paris." Qrow rounded the table and lifted a hand of hers, gently pressing a kiss to it. My team partner blushed and I rolled my eyes.

"The pleasure was all mine, Qrow."

"Until next time." And Qrow and I left the gardens.

"So did you get all the information you needed for this task?" Qrow slyly asked. I shook my head and glanced over at him.

"No. Also no, I'm not telling you what else I need."

"Come on Saph, you know me."

"I also know the VSA rules. So despite that I trust you with my life Qrow, no."

"Your life? Really?" he smirked. My mouth tilted into a smile.

"Yes. I believe that."

We broke out from the HQ and onto the loading docks, where a plane had been loading with supplies to Beacon.

"You're going to hitch a ride to Beacon on that plane there." I flicked my head over to it and began strolling over to it. I had gotten 3 metres away until I noticed that my best friend wasn't following. I spun around and crossed my arms. The plane began powering up and gusts of air blew around us.

"What is it now? You miss Paris already?"

"You said 'you're going to hitch a ride', not 'we're going to hitch a ride'. Saph, I said I wasn't going to let you do this alone."

I pressed my mouth into a thin line. "I'm not going to be alone, I have a whole team with me."

He scowled. "You know that I meant without _me._ "


End file.
